DECEMBER 22 beloved, when I gave all diligence to write unto you of the common Salvation, it was needful for me to write unto you, and exhort you that you should earnestly contend for the Faith which was once delivered unto the Saints. For there are certain men crept in unawares, who were before of old ordained to this condemnation, ungodly men, turning the Grace of our God into lasciviousness, and denying the only Lord God, and our Lord Jesus Christ (Jude, Vss. 3–4). Jude, the half-brother of our Lord (Mat. 13:55; Mk. 6:3), was thinking of writing a letter explaining the way of Salvation, a letter similar to Paul’s Epistle to the Romans; however, news reached him of such a nature to cause him to put that project aside and hasten to write this letter, urging Believers to contend earnestly for the Faith once for all entrusted to them. It was a fully revealed Faith, needing no additions, repelling all corruptions, and infallibly declared in the Apostolic writings. The short phrase, “It was needful,” carries the idea of being constrained. The compulsion to exhort the Saints to contend for the Faith found its source in the Holy Spirit. To be sure, it was no welcomed task: necessity was laid upon him. The exhortation was to Preachers, and actually to all Believers, that they earnestly contend for the Faith. This Faith here is not faith as exercised by the individual, but Christianity itself in its historic doctrines and life-giving Salvation. The short phrase, “Earnestly contend,” in the Greek is “epagonizomai,” which means “a vigorous, intense, determined struggle to defeat the opposition.” Our word “agony” is the English spelling of the noun form of this word. The Greek athletes, for this is the form in which the word is given, exerted themselves to the point of agony in an effort to win the contest. Jude says that the Saints should defend the doctrines of Christianity with the same degree of intense effort, seeing that God gave the Christian doctrines to the Saints as a deposit of truth to be faithfully guarded. In the Fourth Verse, Jude gives the reason why the Saints should contend for the Faith: False teachers were in the Church! Wuest addresses this by saying: “There is a Greek word in II Corinthians 11:13–15 which admirably describes the methods of those who take after their father, the Devil. The Greek word is ‘metaschematizo,’ which means ‘to be transformed.’ It refers to the act of an individual changing his outward expression by assuming an expression put on from the outside, an expression that does not come from, nor is it representative of, what he is in his inner character. “Lucifer did that after he struck at God’s Throne, and became the fallen angel, Satan. As a fallen angel, he gave expression to his sin-darkened heart. But he knew that he could not attract the human race that way. He must impersonate God, if he expected to be worshipped as God. He therefore assumed an outward expression of light, put on from the outside, and not representative of his inner sinful being. He disguised himself as an angel of light. “His ministers have done the same. They use the same terms that Godly Preachers use, but put their own private meanings upon them, which negate the Biblical view. “Reader, do not trust these false teachers any farther than you would a rattlesnake. A rattlesnake will give you warning before he strikes, but not these false teachers. The eternal welfare of your soul depends upon what you believe regarding the Person and Work of our Lord on the Cross.” When Jude mentioned “The Faith,” he was speaking primarily of Christ, which refers to Who He was, and is, the Son of God, and what He did on the Cross, which was to effect Salvation by the giving of Himself in Sacrifice, which He did by the pouring out of His Life’s Blood. It is not pleasant to point out false teachers and false doctrine, but it must be done. The Holy Spirit through Jude said so! Swaggart, J. (2005). The Expositor’s Word For Every Day (pp. 862–864). Baton Rouge, LA: World Evangelism Press.
Posted on: Mon, 22 Dec 2014 10:50:41 +0000
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